Great post. I used to check this website every Fall for years, seeing if there would be any clues my role was in danger. In early 2021 in the interest of being held accountable to it, I told everyone on my team I would be leaving by the end of that year. Leading up to that point, I completely maxed out my vacation so be able to walk away with that pay as well. As fate would have it, I was offered a VSP in Feb 2021 and never looked back. "Are you sure you don't to apply to a different role?" Absolutely not.
I was tired for working for a company who pretty much forced me to lie and "bundle" packages together via the "net cost" strategy to get over on innocent people. If I didn't, I could be secret shopped by my DM if my employees weren't executing those immoral strategies. I did an honest job and brought the store's NPS up from almost dead last in a region of 100 stores to the top 10 in a matter of months. My employees were happy and so were our customers. It's what the also Credo says mattered. It didn't.
For years I would watch the stores everyone knew was cheating get all the praise and promotions. It was evident in their NPS verbatim, all the churn reporting we had access to and the icing on the cake was watching them take their employees to the chopping block when they got greedy with the very things their bosses taught them. What a gross culture. I was so sick of it.
But I, like you, had bills to pay. So I did what I had to do.
My saving grace was getting a role in Indirect. By far the easiest years of my life. I was making 6 figures to drive my car from store to store talking to Best Buy, Costco and Target reps about our promos. No wonder people did that role for 15+ years as much as they did.
But, I knew I wanted more. So I would maximize my car time listening to podcasts on all things business and real estate. I would devour books on my lunch breaks.
I was grateful for the I had while beginning to pursue the life I wanted instead.
I learned a lot of good things at Verizon. Consistency, following the ETR model, discipline, checklists. I was there at a time when making 6 figures as a retail sales rep was not rare. Knowing how little those same reps are making 15 years later watching layoff after layoff round and now outsourcing to other countries reaffirms my decision. There are simply far fewer steps on the Verizon ladder today and anyone in denial will reap what they sow. It cannot and will not improve. Many American companies are currently increasing profitability only via outsourcing. The health of the stock market does not correlate to the strength of the overall economy.
So if you're still at Verizon and rightfully confused and frustrated, "be grateful for the life that you have while you build the life that you want."
So many of you are so talented and are simply handcuffed by fear. Start part time. Try the thing, see if you like it. It's not as crowded as you may think. So many service providers and companies are terrible at what they do and you can take what you learned at Verizon and play to your strengths to build something on your terms.
I earn an honest living as a realtor and contractor now. 2023 was admittedly challenging but almost in line with what I last made at Verizon. But this year my income will be triple that of last year, that's the life of a self employed person. Paying for my own health insurance is a drop in the bucket when compared to what I have gained.
Please don't waste your life doing something you don't enjoy. It's true. As you age and start losing your loved ones and mobility, no amount of money in the bank account will be worth it. Verizon is not the end all be all. Nobody cared when I left and it wasn't even my actual boss who broke the news, I didn't even know the person. When you do what you're good at and enjoy but is also needed in the market, you'll be just fine and more.